Washington University in St. Louis

Nano Research Facility

Today, nanotechnology plays a vital role in expediting a revolution in technology and industry that benefits our society. Advances in nanotechnology - the ability to engineer, manipulate, and manufacture materials at the nanoscale - have enabled an industry to produce and use engineered nanomaterials in a wide variety of consumer products. It is anticipated that the escalating use of these materials in industrial and consumer products will result in greater exposure of workers and the general public to these nanomaterials. Therefore, it is essential to embark on responsible development of nanotechnology - a commitment to develop and to use these materials to meet human and societal needs, while making every reasonable effort to anticipate and mitigate adverse effects and unintended consequences.

Washington University has technical expertise to build our niche at the intersection of nanotechnology and important needs in public health and environment with a focus on:
• Nanostructured Materials - the bottom up approach to nanofabrication
• Nanotoxicology - nanotechnology in the context of public health and environment
• Photoacoustic Microscopy - nanotechnology as an enabler for early cancer detection

Nano Research Facility (NRF) cultivates an open and shared research environment that brings researchers across disciplines together, particularly in the emerging area of nanomaterials with applications in the energy, environment, and biomedical fields. NRF will leverage the NNIN – the catalyst for change – to establish core labs with commitment to open and equal access to both internal and external users. NRF core labs include a micro- and nano-fabrication lab (clean room class 100/1000), surface characterization lab, particle technology lab, and bio-imaging lab. Technical staff will provide training on use of equipment that is available commercially and users become self-sufficient in use of these routine equipment and process. To create technical competency for the NNIN community, we will collaborate with research labs to develop unique tools that are only available from Washington University in St. Louis. Our commitment is to provide unique technical capabilities in areas of:
• Knowledge-based synthesis of nanostructured materials
• Particle instrumentation tools for toxicity studies
• Non-invasive imaging modalities for nano and biological applications